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Kyle Shanahan explains why the 49ers’ ground game has yet to take off in 2025

The 49ers’ offense has made a typically efficient start to the 2025 season, even with several injuries to key players.

With Brock Purdy forced to miss out because of turf toe, George Kittle out with a hamstring injury and Brandon Aiyuk conspicuous by his absence as he recovers from torn knee ligaments, the 49ers still put up 26 points in Week 2 in a game with the New Orleans Saints that saw them lose fullback Kyle Juszczyk to a concussion.

San Francisco ranks 10th in EPA per play on offense and second in success rate, with 49.6% of the 49ers’ plays gaining the required yardage to represent a successful play. The 49ers are seventh in dropback EPA and third in success rate throwing the ball (54.7%).

That is all hugely impressive for a team that has had to operate without several stars and play a full game with a backup quarterback. However, there is an area of concern for the 49er attack through two weeks.

Indeed, the run game has fallen well short of matching the 49ers’ production through the air.

The 49ers have done a decent job of producing successful run plays, with their 41.8% success rate ranking 13th in the NFL. In terms of explosive runs, though, the 49ers have struggled mightily.

Even with a healthy Christian McCaffrey supported by a solid backup in Brian Robinson Jr, the 49ers are a lowly 26th in EPA per play on the ground, with that metric in essence a measure of the rushing attack’s ability to deliver big plays.

The 49ers, per Pro Football Focus, have just three runs of 10 yards or more, one of which came from quarterback Mac Jones. In his first press conference of the week ahead of Sunday’s clash with the Arizona Cardinals, head coach Kyle Shanahan gave his explanation for those struggles.

Asked if the issues on the ground were a consequence of teams loading the box against them, Shanahan replied:

“No, it’s actually more of the opposite, more two-shell defenses and stuff. The Blitzes and stuff was considered loading the box, but we’re doing it with more two-shell stuff. But we haven’t got a big one. I think it’s harder to get big ones with versus two-shell. And I think versus the Saints, I think we had the longest carry on them versus two-shell defense in a year and one games, and I think it was 13 yards. But there’s a couple plays that we’ve been one guy off on that I thought we could have got a big one on, especially versus some eight man fronts. But it takes 11 guys to do it. You can’t get a big one when one guy’s off. But I’m not too concerned with the run game, but I’d like to get more production.”

Two-high safety defenses have become prominent around the league because of the impact they can have in keeping a lid on opposing pass games, yet, for the 49ers, it is their limiting influence on huge runs that has been most apparent so far this year.

San Francisco would appear to be among the teams best-placed to be able to break into the open field against two-shell defenses with how effectively the 49ers run block downfield and how traditionally adept they have been at getting linemen to the second level on zone runs.

But, as Shanahan articulated, they have yet to get all 11 defenders accounted for in such situations, preventing then from turning a run game that has been effective on a down-to-down basis into one that can produce the kind of field-flipping gains the 49ers have become accustomed to from McCaffrey in recent years when healthy.

Right now, the passing game is carrying the load in terms of explosives. While Shanahan is not concerned at this point, he’ll surely be keen for the ground attack to find that elusive big gain sooner rather than later.